No mater what team you root for, you'll love these tailgaiting treats! / David Poleski/Contributor

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Written by Janet Poleski

Photographed by David Poleski

Tailgating is always fun. We don all the fan clothes and have appropriate fan gear, so why not have fan food too? Just think of your team’s colors and try to incorporate them into you favorite tailgating treats. In the past I’ve done lots of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with cranberries for Carolina or Georgia games. The same cookies work for Clemson games by substituting white chocolate chips and chopped dried apricots to get the orange and white motif going.

Try these fun, creative potato salads to go along with your next tailgate; they’ll be the hit of the party. The purple potatoes are pretty much available now at any grocery store. A few quick seconds on a hot grill or grill pan will give the sweet potatoes the perfect tiger stripes. This salad will be the talk of the tailgate!

Of course, you can’t really have a tailgate party without chicken wings, so I made the Clemson ones a bit more orange by adding smoked paprika to the classic hot sauce and butter recipe. The blue cheese dip is made with none other than Clemson’s own blue cheese crumbles. The Carolina wings get their burgundy color from raspberry jam and their kick from chipotle chilies all roasted together to get the deep richness. You are going to love these no matter what team you root for. Finally, I bet these salsas are going to go to lots of parties. Both are fruit salsas which are great alone, or they can elevate a fish or chicken dish that will make everyone cheer. I think the Bugles chips are so cute with the plum, pomegranate and cherry salsa because they look like Gamecock talons to me — but I could be going over the top.

It’s all about having fun.

Go team!

Tiger 'tater Salad

Serves 8.

■ 3 pounds sweet potatoes, sliced into wedges, leaving peel on

■ 8 – 10 small purple potatoes

■ Vegetable oil

■ Kosher salt

■ ¼ cup olive oil

■ ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar

■ 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

■ 1 tablespoon honey

■ 1 teaspoon salt

■ ½ teaspoon cumin

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■ ¼ cup red onion, chopped

■ 3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Preheat grill or grill pan until hot. Brush both sides of sweet potato wedges with vegetable oil and sprinkle with salt. Grill 3 – 5 miutes on each side or until fork tender. When grilled, take peel off and cut into chunks. Place in large bowl. Meanwhile, put purple potatoes in a saucepan, cover with salted cold water, bring to boil and simmer until potatoes are fork tender. Drain. Let cool, and peel off skin. Slice into quarter-inch thick rounds. Place in a bowl with sweet potatoes. In a small bowl whisk the remaining ingredients. Pour over potatoes and toss gently.

Put potato cubes in a pot of salted cold water and boil for 12 – 15 minutes. Drain. Pour reserved bacon fat and vinegar over the potatoes. Mix up mayonnaise, olive oil, salt and red onion. Toss with potatoes and bacon. Add in olive halves and top with basil.

Roasted Chicken Wings

Serves 8.

■ 5 pounds chicken wings, fresh or frozen

■ Flour

■ Salt

■ Pepper

■ Garlic powder

For fresh wings, discard tips and use drumettes and flat parts only. In a large zip-top bag add flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Add chicken wings and shake to coat. Place wings on two foil-covered sheet pans. Chill while oven preheats to 400 degrees. Roast fresh wings for 25 minutes on one side. Flip and roast for 20 minutes on the other side — 10 if you are doing the Carolina sauce recipe. For frozen wings, bake at 325 degrees for 40 – 50 minutes. Coat with Clemson or Carolina sauce as desired.

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Clemson Sauce

■ 1 cup butter

■ 1cup hot sauce (such as Frank’s)

■ 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Mix together and toss with freshly cooked wings. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Melt jam in microwave-safe bowl. Mix in chilies and adobo sauce and toss with cooked wings to transform them into the perfect treat for a Carolina fan. Put wings back in the oven and roast for 5 – 10 additional minutes.

Mango Peach Salsa

■ 1 ripe mango, peeled, seeded and diced

■ 1 ripe peach, peeled, seeded and diced

■ 2 ripe tomatoes, chopped

■ 1 4-ounce can green chilies

■ ¼ cup red onion, chopped

■ 1 tablespoon jalapeno, finely chopped

■ ¼ cup cilantro

■ 1 lime, zested and juiced

■ ½ teaspoon kosher salt

■ ½ teaspoon cumin

Mix together all ingredients and let flavors develop a few hours to overnight. Serve with blue corn tortilla chips if desired. For a super-quick version, add mangoes and peaches to your favorite jar of salsa.

Blackberry, Pomegranate and Plum Salsa

■ 1 cup blackberries, roughly chopped

■ ¼ cup pomegranate seeds

■ 2 purple plums, seeded and chopped

■ ½ Vidalia onion, chopped

■ 2 – 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped

■ ¼ cup cilantro, chopped

■ 1 jalapeno, finely chopped

■ 2 limes, zested and juiced

■ 1 tablespoon olive oil

■ 1 clove garlic, minced

Mix together all ingredients and let flavors develop a few hours to overnight. For a super-quick version, add blackberries, pomegranates and plums to purchased pico de gallo found in the refrigerated salad section of many grocery stores.